Mike Boynton hit the Recruiting Trail After Big West Virginia Win

Mike Boynton’s made a habit of snagging big wins on Saturday and hitting the crootin’ trail shortly after.

Last week after the Cowboys upset Kansas in Lawrence, the head ball coach made his way to a different time zone in Virginia, where he saw the No. 1 player in 2020 and a top-20 player in 2019. This Saturday, he kept it local by stopping in to check out Tulsa Memorial and Booker T. Washington at the BOK Center in Tulsa.

Boynton had a pretty busy agenda on deck, too. On the floor on Saturday night was not only Memorial twins (and my distant cousins, maybe) Kalib and Keylan Boone — both who were recently offered — but also 2020 four-star target Bryce Thompson.

Thompson, the son of local legend Rod Thompson who played for Bill Self at Tulsa, is a top-60 talent in the class nationally and is nearing a recruiting explosion. Thus far, OSU, Houston, OU, Texas A&M and others have hopped aboard, and Kansas (among many, many others) have shown plenty of interest.

Given that Scott Sutton made the haul as well, you get the sense that these players are all being prioritized in 2019 and 2020. Sutton obviously has deep Tulsa ties coming from ORU so his presence is a factor. And Boynton’s made it a point to foster a relationship not only with Bryce, but also with his father Rod, who will play a key role in where he chooses to play.

Boynton’s done a great job with what little he inherited on the roster, but on the recruiting trail he’s yet to make a massive splash …. so far. If he can land any (or all) of the targets he was in to see on Saturday, though, he’ll be plenty stacked with a talented roster. So getting out to see them and striking while the iron is hotter than ever is a big deal. We’ll see if something comes of it.

In the game, Kalib Boone put on a show, scoring 26 points in a 60-51 win for Memorial over Booker T.